In 1981, Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis phoned the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s then General Secretary Bruce Kent and asked for help. While the festival itself had been going since 1970, it still wasn’t that well known. As Michael himself says: “At the time our image was slightly shabby and I wasn’t totally sure the Festival was going to work. We were still losing money and the whole event hadn’t really caught on with paying customers, but I thought CND could help.”
Following a meeting between Michael and Bruce, it was agreed that CND would help promote the festival in return for the proceeds and the event being renamed the Glastonbury CND Festival. CND got the word out and in Michael’s words again – “Now, with their help, we were getting incredible nationwide publicity for nothing. The whole success of the Festival was actually down to that, I think.”
Today, over 40 years later, CND is still an integral part of the festival. Our volunteers manage the Information Points and the Property Lockups on site, while the national CND office crew set up camp in the Green Futures field and to the side of the Pyramid stage to speak to festival goers about the campaign for a world without nuclear weapons. And of course, in recent years the CND symbol has loomed large on the Pyramid stage.
The CND team had a fantastic time at Glastonbury in 2023, enjoying thousands of conversations on why we need to get rid of nuclear weapons. At the 2024 festival we will be explaining how people power can overcome the current nuclear dangers facing us in the world.
We are proud to play a part at Glastonbury. It is a political festival which proudly supports the vision of a greener, more sustainable and nuclear-free world. Attending is always a reminder that our campaign is part of a wider movement of organisations, charities, musicians and people who all want a better world.
If you would like to learn more about CND’s role at Glastonbury, visit this link. If you would like to join CND, you can here.
Greater Manchester & District CND at Glastonbury
GM&D CND has been providing the free Property Lockup service at Glastonbury festival for over 30 years.
Working together with 6 other CND and peace groups, we provide a 24 hour service from Wednesday until 12noon on Monday looking after everyone’s valuables and festival essentials from our bases right across the festival site.
We also run the Challenge 21 wrist banding service and give out free loo rolls. The Property Lockups are an integral part of Glastonbury Festival. The work is pretty straightforward and newbies will always work with an experienced team. You will also be given training on-site before the festival opens.
Our crew are recruited each year, with experienced veterans being given first refusal on spaces. However, it is worth applying as not everyone is able to return every year.
Contact the GM&D CND office for further details on gmdcnd@gn.apc.org
